This capstone project explores different themes ranging from bureaucracy to suburban life, from popularity of guns in the South to suburban life and metal fandom, both borrowing ideas from scholars who have done research on these subjects before as well as employing different experiences of mine as an international student, trying to survive in a country where international students are not much welcomed in practise. Comparing my own experiences with other people's experiences, especially with those who are from other Middle Eastern countries, this project aims to show how life can be hard for foreign students, and how little Americans know about other cultures even though America is supposed to be one giant Salad Bowl. This project also explains some truly American terms such as American Dream, attraction of suburban lifestyle, gun craze, from a foreigners point of view.
","abstract_html":"<p>This capstone project explores different themes ranging from bureaucracy to suburban life, from popularity of guns in the South to suburban life and metal fandom, both borrowing ideas from scholars who have done research on these subjects before as well as employing different experiences of mine as an international student, trying to survive in a country where international students are not much welcomed in practise. Comparing my own experiences with other people's experiences, especially with those who are from other Middle Eastern countries, this project aims to show how life can be hard for foreign students, and how little Americans know about other cultures even though America is supposed to be one giant Salad Bowl. This project also explains some truly American terms such as American Dream, attraction of suburban lifestyle, gun craze, from a foreigners point of view.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gokmen, Nilufer"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in American Studies (MAST)","degree_level":"Capstone","degree_discipline":"Interdisciplinary Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Rebecca Hill","Linda Niemann"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:09Z","subjects":["american dream","bureaucracy","suburban life","media","international students","the South","American Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mast_etd/5","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Rebecca Hill","Linda Niemann"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gokmen, Nilufer"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-06-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interdisciplinary Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Capstone"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in American Studies (MAST)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["american dream","bureaucracy","suburban life","media","international students","the South","American Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mast_etd/5"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This capstone project explores different themes ranging from bureaucracy to suburban life, from popularity of guns in the South to suburban life and metal fandom, both borrowing ideas from scholars who have done research on these subjects before as well as employing different experiences of mine as an international student, trying to survive in a country where international students are not much welcomed in practise. Comparing my own experiences with other people's experiences, especially with those who are from other Middle Eastern countries, this project aims to show how life can be hard for foreign students, and how little Americans know about other cultures even though America is supposed to be one giant Salad Bowl. This project also explains some truly American terms such as American Dream, attraction of suburban lifestyle, gun craze, from a foreigners point of view.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Journey of Tears: What They Don't Tell You About America, a memoir"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Rebecca Hill","Linda Niemann"],"dc:creator":["Gokmen, Nilufer"],"dc:date.available":["2016-06-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This capstone project explores different themes ranging from bureaucracy to suburban life, from popularity of guns in the South to suburban life and metal fandom, both borrowing ideas from scholars who have done research on these subjects before as well as employing different experiences of mine as an international student, trying to survive in a country where international students are not much welcomed in practise. Comparing my own experiences with other people's experiences, especially with those who are from other Middle Eastern countries, this project aims to show how life can be hard for foreign students, and how little Americans know about other cultures even though America is supposed to be one giant Salad Bowl. This project also explains some truly American terms such as American Dream, attraction of suburban lifestyle, gun craze, from a foreigners point of view.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mast_etd/5"],"dc:subject":["american dream","bureaucracy","suburban life","media","international students","the South","American Studies"],"dc:title":["A Journey of Tears: What They Don't Tell You About America, a memoir"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Interdisciplinary Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Capstone"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in American Studies (MAST)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:09Z"}